Air cleaner and humidifier



7, 1935. c. A. KUTCHER 2,012,571

AIR CLEANER AND HUMIDIFIER Filed Oct. 2, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l InventorAttorney Aug. 27, 1935. c. A. KUTCHER AIR CLEANER AND HUMIDIFIER 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 2, 1934 Attorney Patented Aug. 27, 1935 UNITED ,zma n I nIR'oLEANER AND HUMIDIF EK entries A; Kutcher, Sheridan, Wyo

Application october il, 1934; Serial/Na 74 6,586 I 11 2 c eii -i Thepresent inventionrelates tonew; useful improvements in air cleanersandhumidifiers forinternal combustion engines, particularly auto: mobileengines, and has 'forjone of, its. important objects toprovide, in amanneras hereinafter set forth, a device of this character comprisingnovelv means for maintaining a body of waterat constant level forcontact with the air. 1;; :f. 1

Another important object of theinvention is. to

provide an air cleaner and humidifier of theafore'e mentioned characterwhich includes a novel con-v certain conditions, such as when the engineis running at high speed.

Other objects of the invention'are to provide an air cleaner andhumidifier for internal combustion engines which will be comparativelysimple in construction, strong, durable, highly efiicient and reliablein use, compact and which may be manufactured at low cost. r

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of theinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the" accompanying drawingswherein like characters of reference designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views,

and wherein:-,

Figure l is aview in vertical section through an air cleaner andhumidifier constructed in ac-, cordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view in horizontal section, taken substantially on theline 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially on the line3-3 of Figure 1 Figure 4 isa detail view in perspective ofyone of thebaiiies.

Figure 5 is a detail View in side elevation of the safety valve. v I

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that theembodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises ametallic casing I having removably secured to its open; lower end, as at2, a pan 3 for the reception of a liquid such as water in non-freezingweather and: a, light oil in winter or freezing weather.

,Mountedhorizontally, in the" casing "I is'an air drum4.having;anintake,5l(see Figure 2)" extendef ingthrough thefrontnf-said'casing l.'- Mounted on theouter end of the intake '5 of thedrum 4: is a forwardly-projecting intake funnel or the like ,6,

the ,forward end -ofj which isfcovered by a'screen-Themember;liiispreferablyof the shape shown: toadvantagezina-Fig'ure 1:ofthe-dra'wings fortthe purpose of catching a large volume of air as thefan and directing saidairi under pressure into the pan 3:areairfdistributing tubes 8., V

i4 Depending fromithe top;-9 'of the' casing jl into said casing inspaced, concentric relation thereto is a guide sleeve 10. The guidesleeve I0 is for [the reception of an air-tight water tank I I having asupporting flange l2 on its top forengagement with the top 9 oftheicasing I. If necessary or desirable, a suitable gasket maybeprovided be tween the flange l2 and the'top 9 of the casing l.

handle on top'of the tank ll;

Depending fromthe bottom of the tank The reference numeral l3 designatesa carrying ed on its free end portion a removable cap-l5 which isprovided with a discharge port l6'. .A

tubular shield ll, which depends fron 'the, air drum 4 into thepan 3,surroundsthe tube spaced, concentric relation thereto,s'aid tubularshield extending between the upper and lower J plates of the drum 4-,asillustrated to advantage in Figure l of the draWings- ,It will also benoted that the tubular shield l1 extends below the lowe er end of thetube'ld to a point adjacent the bottom of the removable pan 3. V

The lower portion of the pan 3 is divided into compartments by baiilesIBthe upper portionsfof which are perforated, as at Hi, to permitthewater, oil or other liquid to level itself at all times," as when theautomobile is on an incline. Mount-' ed horizontally on the upper edgesof the b'aflles I8 is a substantially fiat, annular baffle 29 whichassists in preventing excessivesplashing or agie tation of theliquid.

Theupper portion of the casing lv isiprovide with an outlet 2! forconnection with theair intake of the carburetor. the casing I is alsoprovided with an air inlet opening 22 which is controlled by a swingingis a discharge filling tube l4 having threadedly mount- The upperportion of 10" automobilegmoves forwardly and 'from' the engine drum 4:?vDepending:iiromthe drum] into the safety valve 23, said valve 23 beingyieldingly secured in closed position by a spring 24. v

In operation, the water, or oil, flows by gravity from the tank I l intothe pan 3 until the tially at the lower ends of the air distributinglevel of the liquid in said pan closes the lower end of the dischargetube I 4, thus preventing the entrance of air into the tank H andstopping further discharge therefrom, At this. point the level of theliquid in the pan 3' will be substantubes 8. Air from the drum 4 passesdownwardly through the tubes 8 into contact with the water and said airis cleaned and humidified simultaneously. The'treated air then risesinthe casing'l around the sleeve I0 andpasses through the outlet 2| tothe carburetor of the engine through a suitable conduit (not shown).

, the water or otherliquid in thelpan 3 is consumed it is constantlyreplenished from the tank H. The baiiles l8 and 20, as hereinbeforestated,

preventexcessive splashing or agitation of the water or other-liquid inthe pan 3 while at the same time permitting said water or'other liquidto level itself through the medium of the periorations I93 The'tube I7shields thedischarge end ofthe 'tube' 14; against agitated water causedby the discharge. of'the airfrom the tubes 8'.

Should there be 'a-tendency' to draw the "water fromlthe pan 3 intothecarburetor of the engine, as when said engine is running at high speed,thesafety'valve 23will swing inwardly to open "position against: thetension ofl the' spring 24,thu's breakingfthe vacuum'or suction in thecas'ingfl; 1 a 1 It is believed that the many advantages'of an aircleaner and. humidifier constructed in':ac-" cordanc with thepresentinventionwill be readily understood, and althoughapreferredembodi merit of the invention-ls as illustrated' and de- Of course, as

scribed, it is to be understood that changes in their upper portions, asubstantially fiat, annular baflie mounted inthe pan on the baflieplates, 'i'an air drum 'mounted horizontally in the casing andcommunicating with the atmosphere for receiving air therefrom, and tubesdepending from the drum for discharging the air into the liquid,

said tubes terminating at their lower ends above the horizontal plane ofthe annular bafile.

2. An air cleaner ,and. humidifier comprising acasing'h'aving'an'outlettherein, a pan, for the reception ofa liquid, mounted on the casing, aliquid supply tank mountedinthecasing and includinga dischargetubedependin'g into the pan, an airdrum mounted in the casing andencircling the discharge'tube, said air drum communicating with theatmosphere for receiving air therefrom, a tubular shield depending fromthe air drum into the pan in spaced, concentric re-' lation to-thedischarge tube, said shield extending below the lower end'of saiddischarge tube, and tubesdepending from the drum for discharging the airinto the liquid.

* CHARLES A. 'KUTCHER.

